Topics

1

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / First New England fish

« on: September 01, 2023, 08:54:08 AM »

I guess the part about "last post in awhile" was a lie. I honestly expected to struggle for awhile before connecting with any decent fish here, but my first two days of fishing in Massachusetts were pretty successful. Day 1 I got off the plane at 6am and was too tired to get any work done but the 20oz Dunkies I slammed before getting in the rental car ruled out sleep as an option. Decided to buy a trusty walmart ugly stik and some squid and tried a random spot off the rocks. Started immediately catching scup. Really fun fish; they fight a lot harder than spotties and are incredibly aggravating to hook. I got bites literally every cast for hours and only managed five, but they were all legal size or close to it so maybe it was just the little guys that were cleaning me out. Came back a couple days later with smaller hooks and didn't have an easier time hooking them. Also caught a bunch of black sea bass; all but one were tiny. What a cool looking fish.

I also had some fun catching snapper blues off the rocks. The guy at the tackle shop told me to use a popping cork with a little piece of surgical tube at the end. Felt pretty stupid when I first started fishing it but once I found some schools blowing up on microbait I started catching them. Too small to put much of a bend in the rod but still pretty fun to watch them boil on the trailer behind the popping cork, and I heard that at this size they're much better eating than adult bluefish but I didn't bring any ice or a bucket with me and I still had the rental car. It was also cool to see how aggressively they were feeding on bait; I can only imagine how exciting it is to see adults doing that.

The highlight of the first day (and of the week) was when I tried casting a swimbait in this harbor that I found. I didn't get any bites but there was tons of bait and a striper followed my swimbait to the rocks. I went back in the evening and followed the school of peanut bunker as it moved its way down the rocks with the tide until I hooked into a striper. Soon after, a pack rolled through and started exploding on the bait, sometimes jumping out of the water or pushing it all the way to the shoreline. Caught a few more and missed some other bites. Super exciting to watch packs of four or five fish all hit a bait school at the same time and have them crush swimbaits being burned in along the surface. Pretty crazy that a similar spot in sd would only have tiny spotties, sometimes corvina/short barracuda, and the occasional halibut. I tried again last night and didn't get any but got followed again, so they're still around. Gotta figure out what was different about the first day; right now what stands out to me is that it was slack tide right at sunset and there was a huge rainstorm later that night.

https://ibb.co/album/84ffNp

2

Saltwater Boat Fishing Reports / First and Last Post in Awhile

« on: August 21, 2023, 05:55:18 PM »

Hey everyone, it's been a long time since I posted. I'll be moving to New England in less than a week and I wanted to get in as much West Coast fishing as I could before leaving. I'm very excited to fish up there; it seems like things are a lot more inshore oriented there and it's easier to catch a nice fish without a serious boat, but the no-fish-of-any-species in the wintertime and the Cape Cod canal mayhem (I've already seen multiple videos of fistfights) will take some getting used to. But hey, nobody there will try to argue that an open faced conventional setup with no reel seat is the ideal choice for throwing lures!

First, the reason why I initially joined this forum - surf sharks. I'll admit that I've done very little surf sharking since 2020, but I got back into it last May-June for a few weeks before persistent bad surf conditions put an end to it. Caught a bunch of leopards, and got a nice soupie on the one night where my phone died. The only evidence I had was a video of my scraped up rub leader. Oh well. Still was nice to pull on one for the first time in awhile, I forgot how hard they fight compared to leopards.

Those few weeks of surf sharking also brought the internal conflicts of spot sharing into the forefront. A bunch of my friends also got into surf sharking at the time, and then told their friends, and it soon became a thing where multiple people were at the spot every night for multiple days in a row. They had already known about that spot, and some of them had already fished it earlier that year, but it was a spot that they had all initially found out about through me (I had been fishing it since before most of them moved to San Diego). At one point, I saw a video of my friend with maybe ten other people he had invited. Most of them weren't fishermen and were only there to spectate, but it still got under my skin. As much as sharks are lightly targeted compared to many other species (one can only imagine the chaos if Yellowtail could be reliably caught from shore), it does seem like biting shark spots stop being productive very quickly in response to pressure when compared to a lot of other fish. Shark fishing's also pretty controversial compared to other types of fishing, and relentless shark fishing in a particular area can make everyone look bad if done irresponsibly. I also think that learning about sharking through people on this forum instilled in me a mindset of being tight-lipped about spots and irritated when others aren't. I'll admit that in years past when I was really into shark fishing, it used to drive me insane when I'd go weeks or even months without a shark and I'd see Steve and Tom post multiple giant sevengills every Tuesday. It's still more rewarding to find them yourself, though. As it is frustrating when you put in the time and effort and others get to take shortcuts, especially if they bag a particular fish that you've been working for for awhile on their first try (has happened a lot over the years). There's definitely a fine line between protecting your spots and the fishery and coming across as a selfish asshole who won't share with anyone and wants all of the fish to himself, and I admit when it came to this past spring's bite I was falling more in the latter category.

I also went out in my friend's boat a few weeks ago for a thresher expedition. It had also been a few years since I had targeted them, but since I had seen a couple on research trips earlier in the week and his brand new boat still didn't have a bait tank, it seemed like the best option for hooking something exciting from his rig. We ended up releasing a nice one that put up a great fight on 40lb. The best part was the bite; it grabbed the mackerel 20ft from the boat as I was sending the balloon out and there's nothing like winding tight to one and watching it greyhound across the surface. Looking back, I probably should have kept it, but we didn't have any ice or cooler and at least we gave it a better chance of surviving than it would have had if it had gotten the gaff. Either way, it was my first one in 3 years and it'll probably be a long time until I fish for them again. Definitely a species I almost feel bad for targeting since it sometimes feel like you can't win. You keep one, people get mad. You release one, people get mad. You share where you caught it, you're a spot burner. You don't share, you're a selfish asshole who wants all the fish to himself blah blah blah

I also did a lot of Yellowtail fishing at the Islands and Rockpile from my friend's skiff and a couple of charters. Definitely a great period of fishing. Our first trip there in my friend's boat was a disaster. This other guy who he invited on neglected to inform us that he had a broken hip. The ride out and the first few hours were really windy and bumpy, and right as the sun came out and the ocean became flat calm he told us that the pain was too much and we needed to go back. Left biting fish without putting the right kind in the boat, and when another friend who had gone out on a different boat sent pictures of the Yellowtail he had caught in the afternoon I almost threw my phone across the room. I understand that an injury like that is no joke and we did not hesitate to reel up our lines and take him back, but it's really poor form to make everyone else on the boat cut their day short for anything short of an emergency. Most of us don't get to fish as often as we'd like to, and when you factor in the limited number of days with good conditions and the right kind biting, things like preexisting medical conditions, predispositions to seasickness, and obligations later in the day need to be made upfront about before getting on the boat, not at the grounds when the fish start biting. The kicker is that we didn't hear one single "I'm sorry" or even a "thank you for taking me back" from him. Ironically, he ended up saving our asses since we realized as we were passing the lighthouse on the way back in that the bilge had stopped working and we had taken about 100 gallons of water.

Fortunately, we got redemption the following weeks. I was crossing my fingers and checking the water temp charts multiple times a day, worried that the water would flip before our next shot. Fortunately, the conditions just got better and better. They were biting really well on Rapalas and flyline/slow trolled sardines on 20 and 30lb. Really great grade too, quite a few in the 20-30lb range. Had one really good opportunity to catch one on an iron; I missed a bump and then this other boat pulls up and divers get in the water, scaring off the school. Good thing we caught plenty of fish that day because it would have completely ruined the trip if that was our one shot. In my frustration, I cast maybe a little too close at the nearest diver which I immediately felt bad and hypocritical about, as I've always thought that someone getting too close or ruining an opportunity to catch a fish is never an excuse to potentially injure someone with a chunk of iron. Regardless, some of these divers need to learn when to stay out of the water as they were a hazard on multiple other occasions during that stretch of warm, clear water and abundant Yellowtail. They all love to say "zero bycatch," well if you keep jumping in the water where we're casting jigs or dragging rapalas you might end up being the bycatch.

Long post, but I learned a lot from this forum and it was great to fish with those on this forum that I fished with. I would ideally like to return to Southern California one day; there's a lot of reasons why living here can suck but it's still a great part of the country that I loved living in the past several years. Hopefully if I figure out how to catch fish in New England I'll share some of those posts too!

Here's a link to some of the photos:

https://ibb.co/album/QvQq6t

 

 

3

Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / The Kayak Grind

« on: August 03, 2021, 08:08:30 PM »

I haven't posted on here in awhile but I figured I might as well. I spent last week dead set on getting a homeguard Yellow. The warm water and 15lbers that others and I were getting a few weeks ago got replaced by cold water and straight big ones. I went out Monday and through sheer random luck found a squid bed. I had no idea they were around and loaded up the tank, excited at the possibilities. Unfortunately, I found out that bass absolutely love live squid (not sure what I was expecting, to be honest). Everywhere I tried fishing the squirts, from top to bottom, in any spot I tried, the bass were immediately on it. I got nailed by a couple sand bass on my first few drops at the squid beds, so I moved away from that area only to find bigger and more persistent swarms of bass. It was pretty frustrating, especially considering most of the bass that bit were too small to even eat the squid all the way and I kept getting cleaned out.

The next few days were tough to watch. Tied up by work, I saw numerous large Yellows get posted on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Of course, this means that way more were caught that never found their way on the internet. Most were caught on squid. Most were caught right on the beds I had too quickly moved from on Monday. Word got out that both candy and big fish were around; when my buddy showed me a newspaper article published Wednesday talking about the hot bite, I knew I needed to get out before the weekend. I had work on Friday, but not until the afternoon. With some reluctance, I set my alarm for 4am and loaded up the car. I knew I needed to be back early, but any shot is better than no shot.

4am came quickly, as it usually does. I dragged myself out of bed and launched while it was still dark out. Bait was everywhere; I quickly loaded up the tank with greenbacks, jack Macks, sardines, and finally some squid. That was about the only thing good about the conditions though; the water had dropped a few degrees more from Monday, now sitting at 66 degrees, and was green and scummy. Even more so, the squid beds were a parking lot of boats and kayaks. After chasing down a bird school in 200ft that quickly sunk down as I was overtaken at the last second by a boat driving right on top of them, I went back to the crowds and sent a few squid down. Nothing. Even the bass from earlier in the week were no longer in the mood, and all I saw get caught was a bat ray. It seemed like I had missed the bite.

After a few hours of this, it was almost time for me to head back and I already begun to accept my skunk. Since I still had lots of jack macks in my tank, I figured I'd at least troll one on the way back in. A buddy had been on the new Seaforth the day before and lost a big yellow in shallow while the boat was scratching away at bass. I was working my way back to the point in 30ft of water when my clicker started to go off in short, sputtering bursts. I initially thought a small bass was messing with the bait. I later realized that the mack was instead TERRIFIED and frantically trying to escape from something, as when I turned the clicker off and let the bait swim back a little further something grabbed it with force, nearly backlashing my reel. I put the reel in gear and the rod nearly got ripped out of my hand. Several intense minutes later, the right kind circled into view. I gaffed it and was elated. Although a few lbs short of my PB kayak yellow caught last April, the circumstances in which I hooked it and the often-rare feeling of a plan perfectly working together made it one of the most memorable so far. I was lucky to have gotten that opportunity when and how I did, as the general consensus from the guys that stayed on the beds that day was that the fish had been keyed in on squirts that week and that the bite had pretty much died. I had been reconsidering my commitment to the kayak yellowtail hunt over the previous couple of weeks, as it often feels like a ton of work for little reward, but all it takes is one fish to keep the fire going. I know I'll be back out soon.

https://kamwalsh.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/n-29SBvt/i-Q36GHtC/A

4

Fishing Talk / What do you guys do when bait is scarce ?

« on: February 17, 2020, 11:11:07 AM »

I’ve been trying to stock up on bait for sharks and it’s been tough. Macks have been very scarce; even tried for a couple hours at the bait barge and didn’t get a single one. I’ve yet to find any grocery store or tackle shop bait that I’ve had any confidence in; seems like the stuff just gets ignored for me. Next summer/fall when the macks are thick I’m gonna stock up and try to vacuum seal some but for now do you guys have any good bait suggestions for this time of year? I’m even thinking about going surf perching so I can get something fresh thats worked for me before.

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Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / 4am Halibut

« on: February 13, 2020, 02:30:32 PM »

I've been wanting to get Halibut dialed in for awhile; either from the surf or from my yak. Unfortunately with work and school my fishing windows are usually limited to the nighttime, not the best halibut fishing hours in most cases. Luckily one decided to work around my schedule last weekend and ate a 6.5'' fluke. Does 4am count as really late at night or really early in the morning?

As usual I could not get the photos to upload to this website even after resizing so I attached the link here if anyone wants to see it:

https://kamwalsh.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/n-dZKfwC/i-MPFLtZr/A

I also ordered a dozen sputs and I'm ready to do some sharking. I think the next time I go out in the yak this weekend I'm gonna drift a glowstick rig off the stern and see if I can make bait that way; I had a lot of trouble finding Macks from the piers at this time last year and hopefully this should be a better way. I don't want to resort to having to use bullet tuna again because although I know some of you guys have had success with it I personally have zero confidence in that stuff. It's gonna be hard to resist the urge to not send all the Macks back down for another halibut though.

6

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / I don't think there's any soup puns left

« on: July 02, 2019, 10:07:05 AM »

I haven't posted on here in awhile but I figured I should update my fellow shark fishermen on some of my recent outings. For most of the spring I was  too distracted by spiny swimbait eating fishes to spend as much time going after the sharks, but recently I've been hitting the sand again for bigger game. The shark fishing was on fire last week. Lots of soupfins around. I wasn't expecting much pulling up to the beach during the early summer but 15 minutes after casting my reel started screaming and it was full speed from there. Over the course of three nights I went 9 for 12 on grinners! My best week yet. I've had a few multiple shark nights before but never for this many days at a time. A couple of confused bat rays showed as well. All of the fish were caught on light line surf species such as croaker, perch, and Corbina; I'd show up to the beach either the morning before or a few hours before sunset to make bait. This last weekend brought in a nasty swell and a lot of kelp to most of the SD beaches but hopefully things'll clear up again soon.

Night 1: fish caught on Yellowfin Croaker + Corbina (gratuitous 18.5'' Corbina pic from that morning; I did not cut that one up for bait)
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4se8TmS9yrSgzhZB6

Night 2: all fish caught on Corbina
https://photos.app.goo.gl/p82o7tpPPnkkmSZo7

Night 3: all fish caught on Corbina
https://photos.app.goo.gl/z6c6HhJzkbs9CDXd6

Night 4: Skunk

Highlight of the week was the shark I caught at sunset on night 3 (the 26th). I tried multiple times to tail her in the wash but she kept spinning out of my grip. 5 or 6 tries later and I was essentially wrestling the animal in the suds while a small crowd gathered to watch. All of a sudden it rubbed through the 100lb leader and I grabbed/tackled it right as it was about to rocket away and give me the biggest embarrassment of my shark fishing career. While dragging it up the beach it tried to bite me and grazed my ankle with its teeth. It's always been kind of on my bucket list to get bitten and although it was only a graze it at least makes for a good story.

7

Saltwater Personal Craft Fishing Reports / My Latest Project

« on: April 19, 2019, 02:38:09 PM »

In 2019 thus far I've only gone shark fishing twice. I'm definitely planning on getting back out on the sand in the next week, but with all the reports people have been posting I wanted to let everyone know that I haven't been just sitting around on the couch. A few weeks ago I bought Mike's old scupper pro 15' ocean kayak and have been getting some good use out of it in San Diego's inshore fisheries. I've mainly been using it at night to target Sand Bass in the main channels of the big bay. I probably should have gone out first during the day to familiarize myself better with the body of water, but after the first outing there haven't been any difficulties. Success has been great so far. As long as there's a strong current (best has been during peak outgoing) the turdrollers have been aggressive and willing. Average size ranges from 12-16'' with some larger models topping 20''. Not huge for the species but a great fight on the Spottie rod. They haven't been too picky about offerings either; I've mainly been using 6'' swimbaits on 3/4-1.5oz leadheads to get down in the current. Lots of smaller calicos and a few good sized spotties in there as well.

I'm planning on using the yak to target halibut, bass, or bay kitties during the day next; I'd like to explore more areas with better vision. I'm planning on taking it on the ocean for calicos/bonito/rockfish/possibly yellowtail (a sleigh ride through the kelp without pedals doesn't sound like a time though) hopefully this summer once I get a marine radio and a few other safety necessities. Right now it's a very bare-bones setup and I'm planning on staying true to the minimalism as much as possible; fishing kayaks outfitted with tons of stuff are great but sacrifice mobility. A rod holder or two, a simple fish finder setup with as little hull-drilling as possible, and a better tackle-storage system are all that I'm really planning on adding. My dad and I have Hobie outbacks back home in Portland and while they're the real deal they can be pretty slow to run as well as to set up/tear down. Not to mention Hobie products are EXPENSIVE. One of their safety flag/light systems was almost $100 so I opted for a couple bike lights instead.

Below is a link to some of the bass from the last few weeks. Tight lines and I hope to see you on the sand in the next few weeks.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/79oyNbj8zKT4Mf7q9

8

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Grunion Run Night 1

« on: March 10, 2019, 02:12:58 PM »

Headed out with Treecatcher last Wednesday to try and hit the first night of the grunion run. Surf conditions were good; incoming tide and fairly calm with little wind or salad. The grunion were there; we caught a few and fly lined them for Halis with no luck. I brought out one of my heavers and put a large Mack head on a 9/0 circle hook. I let it fly and immediately started having line get pulled off of the clicker with the current. I tightened the drag a bit and went back to the flyline. A while later I missed a good run and decided to try switching the 9/0 and mack head out for a smaller 6/0 hook and 2'' strip of bonito. I cast it out and a while later got another bite; less of a screaming clicker run than a short series of staccato jerks with the tightened drag. I set the hook and the reel started screaming. Once about 50 yds of line had melted off I was able to turn the fish, and after about 10 more minutes and a few more good runs I had it in the wash. Steven grabbed it by the tail and it ended up being a nice female soupie. I was thrilled! After a pretty long hiatus from serious shark fishing (aside from my last extremely frustrating outing last month) it was nice to feel the pull of something large and angry again. Released as always and we fished for awhile longer without any bites. Glad to be back on the board.

Photo is here: Copy and paste the entire URL instead of just clicking on the link; for some reason the website doesn't recognize the hyperlinked section.
http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/KamWalsh/media/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-07%20at%2012.49.19%20PM_zps2zsn9z3m.png.html?filters[user]=147156544&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0

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Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Extremely Frustrating Night 2/11

« on: February 12, 2019, 10:55:33 AM »

I normally don't post reports from skunkings but last night was such a mess that I figured I ought to describe it. After a rough couple of months where I hadn't had much time to hit the surf or fish for much other than the occasional Spottie session, I finally. decided to head back out and give sharking a try. I hadn't been able to find any Macks for bait anywhere (it seems like I catch a few whenever I'm fishing for anything else, but always have trouble finding them when I need some) and even struck out trying to catch a few small bat rays. I instead caved in and bought a couple from Zion market. I've never liked using the grocery store macks; they always seem too clean and not slimy/bloody enough but I tried juicing them up with some pro cure to add some extra scent. Showed up to my first spot I did well at last year at around 7:30pm. I don't know if the beach had lost a lot of sand since last fall or something, but within ten minutes I hung up and lost BOTH rigs on BOTH rods. Two brand new rigs I had tied earlier that day, worth probably $40 in total gear between the hooks, wire, sputniks, swivels, rub leader, and about 200 total yards of freshly spooled mono (for some. reason both rigs broke off close to the shore). Words don't describe how frustrated I was. I respooled both of the reels and hastily tied up a few new rigs before recasting. Almost immediately I recognized the dreaded familiar pulling of salad fouling up the line. There was almost no salad on the beach but for some reason I couldn't keep a bait in the water for more than a minute before it started to get dragged around and I would need to haul in 40lbs of soggy dead weight. I finally gave up after being at the spot for over 2 hours and maybe having my lines in the water for 10 minutes of that time.

I then moved to another popular spot a bit south and found that the sand had disappeared as well. It was a struggle even finding somewhere to stick my sand spikes in; I could only push them through a few inches before they hit solid rock and wouldn't go any further. I cast out both of my lines again and although there was no salad, the current at the spot was ripping and still pulling line off the clicker within minutes. Add a couple horrible backlashes on top of everything and it was no time at all before I threw in the towel. Possibly my most frustrating session to date, and one that left me with absolutely no clue what's going on or where to go from here. I can live with putting in time and catching no fish, but not even being able to really fish and spending the whole time battling conditions and gear issues is another story. Very frustrating and thought I'd update.

10

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Lots of Leopards

« on: November 01, 2018, 04:58:49 PM »

The last month has been really productive for surf kitties in SD. I found a spot they congregate in pretty regularly and nearly every outing has resulted in a hookup. All of the leos have been really good quality, with a 4-5ft average. Hooked one that was either an absolute monster or just really amped up that took me all the way to the knot and rubbed me off 20 feet away from the beach once I had gotten all my line back. Was thinking maybe a stray soupie but the fight was pretty leopard-like. I haven't had the time to fish for very long stretches at a time so my sessions have been anywhere from half an hour to two hours usually. Nice to be able to catch sharks without being out there all night!

I've mainly been fishing with leftover gear/rigs from last spring but with the reports of soupies being around it's time to get back in shape. Probably would have landed that monster if I had been using a 100lb rub leader instead of one I made by doubling up 50lb mono. Catching fish with old, scrapped together gear feels resourceful and satisfying but losing fish because of old, scrapped together gear makes you feel like an idiot haha.

photos are here (I posted some on the fb page): https://kamwalsh.smugmug.com/Leopard-Sharks/

11

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Leo and Soupie Night 6/9-6/10:

« on: June 10, 2018, 01:34:05 PM »

Went out with Steve and Jerry last night. I wasn't sure if I would be able to go but decided it's always better to give it a shot than not and arrived after them just past dark. The outgoing tide was in full swing, with the salad and surf conditions not looking promising. I cast out and my first bait comes back neatly bitten off below the 8/0 J hook I was using. I recast with a different bait and the same thing happens in five minutes. Just as I'm suspecting it might be Leopards Steve's rod goes off. He fights a nice sized Leo up to the beach. After a couple photos and an easy hook removal it goes back. I see that Steve was using a stinger hook rig with smaller hooks so I asked to borrow one of his to try and keep any more drive-bys from happening. I cast out hoping to get one of the Leos that had been mauling my baits but almost as if they knew about the stinger hook they stopped biting. For the next couple hours we fish without much action, moving north a little bit to position ourselves in a better hole. The currents started acting very weird as the tide continued to go out; our baits would get moved north and south in equal turn and there were a couple of clicker runs that came up empty and with the baits untouched.

At about midnight-12:30 I was standing with Steve and Jerry by Jerry's rod when my rod at the very end started screaming. It was nearly 50m away and I sprinted to go grab it. About halfway there and it started running faster and so did I. I finally got to the rod and set the hook as hard as I can. First run took me deep into the backing and with a couple of head shakes I was thinking shark. I didn't want to jinx myself after the previous day though so I didn't say anything and kept reeling. I had gained about half of my line back when a big tangle formed between my line and Steve's, but we were luckily able to clear it while staying tight to the fish and I stayed connected. Eventually the fish came through the breakers and Steven got a hand on the tail. A nice 68'' female soupie, the one I had been looking for over the last couple weeks. We notice it's hooked deep so we got to work removing the hook, measuring, and photographing as quickly as possible. She was looking pretty exhausted but after a few minutes reviving her in the surf she swam off. We fished for about another hour after before heading back. Great fish and great session! Always a pleasure to fish with you guys!

Photos are here:
https://imgur.com/VL9cWG1
https://imgur.com/aC3yBZQ
https://imgur.com/MCjuTMy

12

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Soupie and Soupie Imposter

« on: June 09, 2018, 12:53:16 PM »

Headed out with Steven again to the same spot. Arrived at about 1:30am and fished the incoming. Conditions were pretty good; minimal salad and mild surf. About an hour or so in Steve hooks up with a piece of surfperch as bait. Wasn't feeling like much at the start but it then started to go on some strong runs. As it gets closer and I wade out to tail it I see its a soupie and the excitement level rises. Steve did a good job helping me land my first surf sevengill a couple weeks ago and I didn't want to screw up on his first surf soupie! It gets within grabbing range and I tail it. A nice 6' soupie! We get to work releasing it as quickly as possible; Steve takes plenty of pictures and gets an official measurement while I unhook it. it goes back and we keep fishing. A couple hours later I hook up into a fish that fought exactly like a large soupie; lots of direction changes and head shakes. Somehow ends up being a decent sized bat. I'm never truly disappointed to catch a nice fish but that one was a bummer. Bat Rays seem to have mixed opinions on this board but I don't mind catching them unless they fight like sharks. I stuck it out a little longer until the sun came up but by that point the surf and salad had gotten worse and there were seals in the water. Had a couple baits get neatly bitten off behind the head too. I usually use single circles because I like how securely they (usually) hook the fish and how easy they are to take out but they do seem to get a lot of missed bites if the fish don't inhale them all the way.  Good session overall and hopefully I'll get another session or two in before I leave for the summer. Tight lines!

Photos are here: https://karenpan.smugmug.com/Soupie-and-Bat/

13

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Sevengill Frenzy

« on: May 20, 2018, 06:10:15 PM »

Headed out with Steve last night to try and get on a few sharks and use up the questionable bait that we had left (Macks have been absent lately so we were down to a bat ray and a ripe yellowfin croaker). We arrive at the spot and conditions were great. We were worrying about salad but there was very little in the water and we made a point of removing all the clumps that had been washed up by the previous tide and tossing them above the high tide line so they wouldn't turn into a problem later. About 30 minutes in and my clicker starts going off. Hooked into a small sevengill that threw the circle hook just beyond the breakers. Very annoyed but I figured that if I landed the next one it would make up for it (foreshadowing). A little while later Steve gets one about five feet long and we release it after a few photos. I set up a second rod to improve my chances and cast it out near where I hooked the first one. Suddenly, I see my rod that hooked the first fish start to do the weird Sevengill pumping thing and when the line goes slack I reel up and set the hook hard. I set it a few more times to make sure it's really in there and fight it up to the surf line. It looks a little bigger than the first one I farmed and I'm determined not to lose it. As it comes up to the breakers I see a particularly large wave carry it up and slam it down onto the sand, throwing the hook AGAIN. I'd like to say I handled it with dignity but a more accurate assessment of what happened is a long string of (loud) four letter words and creative phrases featuring said four letter words. I look at the bat ray strip that was still attached to my circle and notice that the thick piece likely didn't give the hook much capacity to rotate and screw into the fish like it's supposed to. I adjust by re-rigging my baits so they're hooked on the thin side of the strip and cast out again, praying the fish gods give one more shot. Steve hooks and loses another Sevengill in the meantime and I my mind starts to wander towards dangerous territory (treble hooks). A little later I switch the rod I'm holding with the one in the holder to check for weeds and when i go back to the former rod I notice the line is slack. I figure it's probably just from moving the rod around and reel in a couple turns but when the line is still slack about five turns later I realize what's happening and tighten up to the third angry sevengill of the night. It runs to the right and jumps before veering course and sending me 50 yards down the beach. Steve tries to tail rope it but it slaps the tail rope off and he's forced to grab it and drag it up the beach. A nice 6.5' male Sevengill! A few photos and back he goes. So stoked to have finally redeemed myself.

About a half an hour later Steve hooks up again into the biggest one of the night. This one takes him up and down the beach and into every other line that's out. Both of us are busy with Steve working on bringing him in and me running up and down trying to get the lines clear and prevent a horrible tangle (I didn't). However we get the shark free and a little while later it's time to wade in and grab him. Our tailrope disappeared so I went into about thigh deep water and shone Steve's headlamp into the water, trying to find the shark in the wash. I realized his head was about a foot in front of me. He lunges and I go around the far side to where his tail is and grab him before dragging him up onto the sand. An awesome 8 foot Sevengill! We take some pictures and release him. We planned to fish some more but after dealing with the horrible tangle that ensued we decide to throw in the towel for the night and end it on a high note. Awesome session overall and I can't wait to head out again!

Photos are here: https://kamran-walsh.smugmug.com/Sevengills-519/

14

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Another Soupfin Frenzy 5/9

« on: May 09, 2018, 11:56:37 AM »

I was itching to get back out after last Wednesday's productive session so I caught a score of Macks and headed out Monday night at around 1am to try and fish the incoming until sunrise. Water was flat calm, surf was minimal, wind was light, but the SALAD. It was without a doubt the most ridiculous amount of kelp and assorted seaweeds I had ever seen. I'm talking clumps as big as five feet across and weighing 20-30lbs at a time. Salad that made the clickers on both rods scream within minutes of casting and would take drag in the undertow. I should have taken a picture. Somehow I got a run in the midst of the stuff and hooked into what was definitely a nice shark. However, once I got it close to the undertow it rubbed right through my 100lb shock and broke off...great. I kept trying for another couple of hours but as the tide switched to outgoing the salad that had been washed ashore began to get pulled back out and it got even worse. The salad was so bad that I lost two rigs trying to drag the ridiculous amount of deadweight through the undertow. It was pretty unbelievable and I called it at around 4:30.

The next night I headed back out to the same spot despite the adverse conditions the night before. Madness? Maybe, but I knew there were fish around. In addition to the shark I lost I reeled in several missing or shredded baits. I was planning on fishing from 1:30-6am or so and figured that if I deserved a second chance on the grinner it would happen. I cast out both my rods and was immediately pleased to discover that the salad situation had drastically improved from the night before. I was still catching plenty of it but nothing compared to the night before. At about 4:30 I felt a thump on the rod I was holding (I only have one PVC pipe so I just hold the other rod). I held my breath as the line slowly started pulling from the clicker in a manner similar to the way the salad had been doing throughout the night but a few seconds later I realized this was no kelp and I set the hook as hard as I can. I saw the splash about 100 yards out and a screaming run followed. I tried to keep the fish in front of me rather than running sideways into underwater obstructions and it surfaced a few more times to let me know its location. About 20 minutes later I landed my new PB soupie, a tank of a female that I measured out to be roughly 6.25'/76'' in length. I tried to get some photos but they didn't do the fish justice; I haven't found a good way to take photos of nighttime fish while solo yet. I didn't want to keep her out of the water any longer though so I quickly worked out the hook and released her.

The big female wasn't the only soupfin around. As the sun slowly began to rise I got two more runs in a span of about five minutes, with one dropping the bait before I could get to it and the other spitting the hook as soon as I connected with it. I was soon down to my last piece of bait and flung it out. As I was beginning to tear down my stuff the clicker screamed and I set the hook into a fish that melted about 50 yards of line off the spool so fast I burned holes in both of my thumbs trying to stop it. I was thinking giant bat ray but the head shakes and sudden direction changes were definitely sharklike...about another fifteen minutes and a few more fast runs later I beached a smaller 5.5' soupie. Hardest fighting one I've hooked so far! Since it was daylight I was able to get a photo of me holding it by propping my phone against the rod spike, flipping the camera, recording a quick video of me holding the fish, and taking screenshots from that. I sent the shark back and by that point it was around 6:00 and time to head back to make my morning classes. Great session and proof that persistence pays off!

Photos are here https://kamran-walsh.smugmug.com/My-New-Gallery/

15

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Multi Species Night 5/3

« on: May 04, 2018, 01:08:49 PM »

Headed out last night with Treecatcher after getting skunked the last couple of times out. Decided to fish a spot that I had fished the night before with lots of shredded baits/small runs but nothing connecting. We set up and immediately get hit with a lot more salad than the night before; I was confused about where it came from considering it wasn't too windy during the day (at least I don't remember it being too windy). The abundance of salad coupled with a strong current resulted in a lot of false alarm clicker runs throughout the night, but we were able to find some fish nonetheless. First fish of the night was the laziest bat ray I had ever caught. He made an extremely slow clicker grab and fought like a big sluggish shark; it was the first bat ray I had hooked that didn't just take off screaming when the hook stuck in him. I could have sworn I felt a couple head shakes too. Steve got a butterfly ray at the same time.

Another hour or so and a few short bites later my clicker went off again and the line slackened as soon as I ran up to my rod. I reeled in the slack and connected to something angry and definitely not a ray. I was expecting a nice soupfin but ended up with a tank of a leopard shark! 57" on the tape and my first Leo! I had been wanting to get one for awhile now and I'm glad I knocked it off the list with a bang! I released it and recast. Quickly after my clicker started crawling off again and I hook what felt like a big clump of weeds with the occasional head shake. It ended up being a Banded Guitarfish, the first one I'd seen (aside for one that someone left for dead on the oceanside pier). Crazy looking fish!

Later in the night Steve's clicker starts SCREAMING and he sprints over to set the hook. It ended up being another nice Leopard that went on some hard runs and felt like a much bigger fish. An hour later with no more love and we decide to call it. Although we didn't catch the targeted surf sharks it was a great multi species session and I can't complain about catching an almost 5 foot leopard. Can't wait to head out again next week.

Photos are here: https://kamranwalsh.smugmug.com/53/
The free trial I kept renewing is about to expire so it's either time to find a different third party website or create a new account with a different email.